Minsheng Financial Leasing lines up four VLCC newbuildings in China in deal worth around $500m
Key Takeaways
- •Minsheng Financial Leasing has been linked by shipbuilding sources to four 319,000 dwt VLCC newbuildings at Jiangsu New Hantong Ship Heavy Industry, priced at about $125m each for a total of roughly $500m.
- •Market sources tie the four vessels to Clearlake Shipping, Gunvor's chartering arm, but neither Minsheng nor the shipyard has publicly announced the contracts, and employment and delivery details have yet to emerge.
- •Days before the VLCC deal, Minsheng expanded its MR tanker programme at Guangzhou Shipyard International from six to 11 vessels, with all 49,900 dwt ships owned and financed by Minsheng and chartered to Shell Tankers.
- •Minsheng is also the owner behind four 175,000 cu m LNG carrier newbuildings at Jiangnan Shipyard for Shell Singapore, scheduled for delivery in 2028 and 2029.
- •New Hantong has built one of the industry's largest VLCC backlogs since entering the segment with Trafigura in 2024, with subsequent orders placed by Zodiac Maritime, Yasa Holding and Yangzijiang Maritime.
Minsheng Financial Leasing has lined up four VLCC newbuildings in China in a deal worth around $500m, extending a rapid run of charter-backed shipping investments by the Chinese lessor.
Shipbuilding sources have linked Minsheng to four 319,000 dwt vessels at Jiangsu New Hantong Ship Heavy Industry, priced at around $125m each. VLCCs, or Very Large Crude Carriers, are the largest crude oil tankers in common ocean-going service, typically carrying around two million barrels of crude on long-haul routes, with the Middle East Gulf-to-Asia trade — the largest seaborne crude movement — a core employment for the class.
The quartet is being tied by market sources to Clearlake Shipping, the chartering arm of Geneva-headquartered commodities trader Gunvor. Details of the employment arrangements and delivery dates have yet to emerge, and neither Minsheng nor the yard has publicly announced the contracts. Charter-backed structures of this kind, in which a leasing house finances and owns new tonnage while a trader or oil major commits to employ it, have become an established route for shipping capital, with Chinese financial lessors among the most active providers in recent years.
The move comes days after Minsheng expanded its Shell-backed MR tanker programme at Guangzhou Shipyard International, a yard within China State Shipbuilding Corporation, from six to 11 vessels. All 11 of the 49,900 dwt ships will be owned and financed by Minsheng and chartered to Shell Tankers. MR, or Medium Range, tankers are widely used in the refined-products trades, generally in the 45,000–55,000 dwt range.
The Chinese lessor is also the shipowner behind four 175,000 cu m LNG carrier newbuildings at Jiangnan Shipyard, another CSSC yard, for Shell Singapore, scheduled for delivery in 2028 and 2029. Taken together, the programmes span crude oil, refined products and LNG shipping, all ordered at Chinese yards.
New Hantong has rapidly built one of the industry's largest VLCC backlogs after breaking into the segment with Trafigura in 2024. Eyal Ofer's Zodiac Maritime has since placed a sizeable VLCC programme at the yard, while Yasa Holding recently signed up for four 319,000 dwt units at around $125m each. Yangzijiang Maritime has also built up a 12-ship VLCC series at New Hantong. The concentration of VLCC orders at Chinese yards comes as tanker owners weigh fleet renewal against an ageing crude tanker fleet and tightening International Maritime Organization emissions rules. Formal confirmation of the Minsheng contracts, and the terms of any Clearlake employment, remain the open questions.
Source: Splash247